A primary school teacher in Birmingham has said he resigned from his post after parents complained that he was telling children it was acceptable to be gay.

Andrew Moffat was assistant head at Chilwell Croft Academy, in Newtown, where he told pupils during school assembly that he was gay.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Moffat also taught a literacy lesson using a book in which a gay family went on a picnic.

Mr Moffat, who produced a pamphlet entitled "Challenging Homophobia in Primary Schools", told the newspaper that after he had come out during the assembly, parents complained to the school.

He said: “I did come out at school in an assembly after a group of 11-year-olds held up a poster they made, with the heading ‘Gay is good’.

"It seemed like the right time to let the children know that they knew a gay person.

“Following my coming out, some parents from different communities complained to the school, but I maintain that my decision was the right one at that time.

“Some Christian and some Muslim parents have told me they don’t want their children learning that it’s OK to be gay.”

After the protests, Mr Moffat resigned from the school and is now currently teaching at a different school.

Chilwell Croft said in a statement: “A minority group of parents objected to some of the resource books being used in literacy lessons with some of the oldest children in the school, which explored relationships in different families.

“The objections were primarily voiced by those whose own religion took an opposing stance to homosexuality.”

Reactions on Twitter to Mr Moffat's resignation

A gay headteacher at another school in Birmingham said he was shocked that Mr Moffat had been "intimidated" by a small group of parents.

Liam Nolan, head teacher at Perry Beeches Academy, told the Sunday Times: "The Muslim community is being allowed to influence government legislation around equality."

However, Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said schools had a duty to tell parents before introducing literature that some might object to on religious grounds, whether it was Islamic or Christian.